Merry Christmas 2021!

 Hola darlings, and a Merry Happy Christmas and holiday season to you all!  Here's the final version of this year's Christmas tree:

Comet Leonard will be seen from Earth (without telescope) for the last time tonight.  No, it's not the magical "star" that led the Three "Kings" (Magi [magicians and astrologers/astronomers] from the "East", probably somewhere in Mesopotamia) to the home of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus some time after he was born.  According to the article, Comet Leonard has been seen from Earth only during a brief window (closing tonight) and is headed toward the Sun, to circle around it (?) and then be "slungshot" out of our solar system forever (how do they know this?), that is, if it doesn't fall apart/disintegrate into rock and ice first.   I say - NEVER say never, LOL!

If you want to say a fond farewell to Comet Leonard, check it out if your skies are clear (may need binoculars, so I probably won't be able to see it), about an hour after sundown above the southwestern horizon.  You can use the planet Venus hanging in that area of the sky as a "guide" to try and spot Comet Leonard.

Now, I'm going to go open my Christmas presents (they weren't put under the tree until yesterday when I unpacked the boxes I received from my siblings - I scored a real haul this season!)  I'm going to eat a hearty dinner of my Easy Beef Burgundy and mashed potatoes and glue myself to the Packers game!

St. Louis Chess Club Special Gift to You All!

 Hola, darlings!  Sorry I haven't been here for awhile (again).  This is one of the busiest times of the year for me and yes, still fussing and mussing with trying to get the (new) Christmas tree absolutely and gorgeously perfect this year.  Haven't gotten there yet, but gave up and said to heck with it, it is what it is.  But it's like settling for being a 435 player rather than a 2982 player.  Sigh.

A brief entry only, since I'm dealing with endless computer issues on a 2 year old computer that has been majorly messed up by downloads of Windows 11 stuff, and learning how to use this new-fangled baby from Best Buy (delivered in person to my home last Saturday as an "emergency", har!) that has a "safe" version of  Windows 11 already installed - never mind, not going there!  Here's a cool gift for everybody, just follow the link to the St. Louis Chess Club website:

Happy Holidays from the Saint Louis Chess Campus! As 2021 comes to a close, the Saint Louis Chess Club and World Chess Hall of Fame would like to offer free downloadable versions of “Learn to Read and Write Chess" to all of our subscribers to celebrate the holiday season. Developed by Saint Louis Chess Club co-founder, Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield, it’s purpose is to teach chess literacy to beginners and non-tournament chess players. The booklet uses reading, talking, writing, and moving pieces to support all types of learners. It also includes a paper chess set.  Besides the English version it has been translated into seven other languages; Dutch version by WFM Yvette Nagel Seirawan, Romanian version by GM Ioan Christian Chirila, Indonesian version by WGM Irene Kharisma Sukandar and Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield, French version by WGM/IM Almira Skripchenko, Spanish version by GM Alejandro Ramirez, German version by GM Daniel Hausrath and Filipino version by Eliseo Tumbaga. All eight versions of "Learn to Read and Write Chess" are now available for FREE on the Saint Louis Chess Club’s website here. Yours in Chess, The Saint Louis Chess Campus and Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield

Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions 4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361-CHESS (2437)

Goddesschess is still here, and we'll be sponsoring prizes for female chessplayers in the 2022 Grand Pacific Open scheduled to be held in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) - assuming it takes place.  We had arranged for prize money some months back - before the Omicron variant took over the world during the last week or so.  Sigh.  Fingers crossed, the event will go on as planned.  But who knows?  Only the Chess Goddess, and she's somewhat mercurial.  

Merry Christmas, Happy Winter Solstice to us Goddess worshippers, Happy Holidays to ALL, with love and a song in my heart for all of you, woo woo!